Since TRAIL is unable to host our usual in-person member events at the present time, we hope these recommendations will help you select from among a wealth of online opportunities to learn, grow, and combat social isolation. Enjoy!
For centuries, Italy has been an irresistible magnet for people from all corners of the world, attracting the most illustrious men and women of every age as well as visitors from every walk of life. But what is behind Italy’s remarkable appeal? What makes this country such an inexhaustible place of discovery, unforgettable to so many?
In this special presentation, part of AARP’s One-Day University Lecture Series, award-winning author, teacher, and Italian scholar Joseph Luzzi leads participants on a whirlwind tour of Italy’s “greatest cultural hits,” as we explore the fascinating world of Italian art, music, film, architecture, literature, and even food and wine! We will learn how Italy has been a “grand tour” travel destination for centuries as we discover the fine art of living, Italian style.
Professor Luzzi will participate in a LIVE Q&A immediate following the pre-recorded lecture.
This event is FREE, but registration is required. A recording will be available to view after the live event concludes, but you must REGISTER to receive the link.
Joseph Luzzi (PhD, Yale) is Professor of Comparative Literature and Faculty Member in Italian Studies at Bard College. He is the author of five books including My Two Italies, a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection, and In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love, a Vanity Fair “Must-Read” selection that has been translated into multiple languages. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, TLS, The London Times, and Chronicle of Higher Education, among others, and his awards include a Yale College Teaching Prize, Dante Society of America Essay Prize, and Wallace Fellowship at Villa I Tatti, Harvard’s Center for Italian Renaissance Studies.
In 2017 he was named Cittadino Onorario/Honorary Citizen in Acri, Calabria, his Italian parents’ birthplace. Luzzi’s work has been featured in media venues including the Guardian and National Public Radio, and his next book is Botticelli’s Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance, which will be published by W. W. Norton in 2022.